Press releases

2 May 2016

Veterans from Belarus, UK, USA share memories with Wargaming in Victory Day video

MINSK, 2 May (BelTA) – Veterans from Belarus, the UK and the USA have shared their memories with the game development company Wargaming in a unique video War Knows No Nation. The video has been released as part of the global initiative Remember Everything and is timed to Victory Day, BelTA learned from Wargaming representatives.

The interactive project gives viewers a close-up look at World War Two events using a 360-degree view technology. The video is a combination of live panoramic footage and computer-generated imagery. Its approach is unique as far as historical projects are concerned.

The video’s plot is based on memories of the veterans, who took part in combat actions during World War Two. Viewers are invited to go to war together with the main characters and feel the environment to the extreme by watching the events unfold from the point of view of combatants and eyewitnesses. A multitude of authentic details have been utilized to beef up the participation effect ranging from wartime costumes to real armored fighting vehicles. The video crew shot the film in Belarus, Russia, the UK, and the USA.

The interactive video features three veteran tankers from Belarus, the UK, and the USA. Each has his own story to tell.

Alexander Fen (Belarus) is a retired Major General who served in the 84th and 31^st independent tank brigades. At the age of 19 he took part in the battle of Stalingrad followed by the Kursk battle. He fought to liberate Ukraine, Romania, Belarus, Lithuania, and Latvia. The war ended for him in the Polish city of Gdynia.

Tom Sator (USA) served in the 4th Armored Division of the U.S. army. He took part in battles in Belgium, Germany, and Czechoslovakia.

David Render (UK) is one of the very last surviving World War Two veterans to have participated in the D-Day landing in Normandy as part of the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry of the British army. He became a tank commander at the age of 19.

The video is available on YouTube and the panoramic and stereoscopic videos network LittleStar.

Remember Everything is a global initiative launched by the game development company Wargaming in 2013 in a bid to help military history museums all over the world to preserve and restore legendary fighting vehicles. The campaign is designed to revive interest in history, inspire young people to learn more about their country’s past, and preserve unique historical artifacts for future generations.